This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D.W.]
By HECTOR MALOT
With a Preface by EDOUARD PAILLERON, of the French Academy
HECTOR-HENRI MALOT, the son of a notary public, was born at La Brouille(Seine-Inferieure), March 20, 1830. He studied law, intending to devotehimself also to the Notariat, but toward 1853 or 1854 commenced writingfor various small journals. Somewhat later he assisted in compiling the'Biographie Generale' of Firmin Didot, and was also a contributor to somereviews. Under the generic title of 'Les Victimes d'Amour,' he made hisdebut with the following three family-romances: 'Les Amants (1859), LesEpoux (1865), and Les Enfants (1866).' About the same period hepublished a book, 'La Vie Moderne en Angleterre.' Malot has writtenquite a number of novels, of which the greatest is 'Conscience,' crownedby the French Academy in 1878.
His works have met with great success in all countries. They possessthat lasting interest which attends all work based on keen observationand masterly analysis of the secret motives of human actions.
The titles of his writings run as follows: 'Les Amours de Jacques (1868);Un Beau Frere (1869); Romain Kalbris (1864), being a romance forchildren; Une Bonne Afaire, and Madame Obernin (1870); Un Cure deProvince (1872); Un Mariage sons le Second Empire (1873); Une Belle Mere(1874); L'Auberge du Monde (1875-1876, 4 vols.); Les Batailles du Mariage(1877, 3 vols.); Cara (1877); Le Docteur Claude (1879); Le BohemeTapageuse (1880, 3 vols.); Pompon, and Une Femme d'Argent (1881); LaPetite Soeur, and Les Millions Honteux (1882); Les Besogneux, andPaulette (1883); Marichette, and Micheline (1884.); Le Lieutenant Bonnet,and Sang Bleu (1885); Baccara, and Zyte (1886); Viceo Francis, Seduction,and Ghislaine (1887); Mondaine (1888); Mariage Riche, and Justice (1889);Mere (1890), Anie (1891); Complices (1892); Conscience (1893); and Amoursde Jeunes et Amours de Vieux (1894).'
About this time Hector Malot resolved not to write fiction any more.He announced this determination in a card published in the journal,'Le Temps,' May 25, 1895—It was then maliciously stated that "M. Malothis retired from business after having accumulated a fortune." However,he took up his pen again and published a history of his literary life:Le Roman de mes Romans (1896); besides two volumes of fiction, L'Amourdominateur (1896), and Pages choisies (1898), works which showed that,in the language of Holy Writ, "his eye was not dimmed nor his naturalforce abated," and afforded him a triumph over his slanderers.
EDOUARD PAILLERON de l'Academie Francaise.
When Crozat, the Bohemian, escaped from poverty, by a good marriage thatmade him a citizen of the Rue de Vaugirard, he did not break with his oldcomrades; instead of shunning them, or keeping them at a distance, hetook pleasure in gathering them about him, glad to open his house tothem, the comforts of which were very different from the attic of the RueGanneron, that he had occupied for so long a time.
Every Wed